Pesto Meatballs with Cauliflower Polenta
Cauliflower Polenta
Ingredients:
1 Head Cauliflower – cut into florets
1 Tbsp Ghee
Sea Salt to taste
Method:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Add cauliflower florets to the pot and cook over high heat until fork tender.
Drain the cooked cauliflower in a colander placed overtop of a bowl – you want to try to reserve a bit of the cooking liquid for the next step.
Transfer drained cauliflower to a food processor along with 1 Tbsp ghee and a pinch of sea salt. Pulse until you reach a thick yet smooth consistency. If your polenta is too thick, add a tbsp of the cooking liquid to loosen it. Don’t add too much liquid or it will become too runny.
Taste for seasoning and adjust salt as desired.
To serve: spoon polenta into individual serving bowls, ladle in a meatball with some extra sauce, and garnish with finely sliced scallions and shaved pine nuts (Just make sure to call it “Pine-igiano-Reggiano”).
Note: Want some perfect zoodles instead?? The trick with Zoodles is too season them with a small pinch of salt and let them drain of all excess moisture. Otherwise you will end up with a pool of bitter zucchini liquid at the bottom of your dish!
Paleo Pesto Meatballs with Zucchini Noodles
2lbs grass-fed hormone and antibiotic free ground beef (ideally medium fat)
1 cup loosely packed parsley (sub basil for a more traditional pesto or coriander for something out of the ordinary)
¼ cup pine nuts (sub walnuts if unavailable) – plus a few tbsp extra for garnish
2 small white onions
8-9 cloves garlic
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 whole eggs (organic, free-range)
4 zucchinis – spiralized
1.5 L passata
2 scallions – finely sliced for garnish
Method:
For the pesto:
In a food processor or blender, combine 1 cup loosely packed parsley, ÂĽ cup pine nuts, 1 small onion, 3-4 cloves garlic, tbsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper. Blitz until it reaches a smooth yet thick consistency.
For the Meatballs:
To a large mixing bowl, add 2lbs ground beef, 2 whole eggs, 2 tbsp garlic powder, and the all of the parsley pesto.
Using your hands, gently mix the beef with the seasonings until it is evenly combined. Do not over-mix the beef or it will cause it to toughen during cooking.
To avoid the mixture from sticking to your hands, rub a few drops of evoo onto your hands and begin to form large balls – approx. 4oz each (the size is entirely optional – smaller meatballs make great appetizers.) I personally prefer large meatballs for this recipe. Regardless of what size you prefer make sure that each meatball is uniform so as to keep cooking times consistent.
In a large Dutch oven or heavy bottomed stockpot, heat 1 tbsp evoo over medium heat. Working in batches so as to not overcrowd the pan, brown each side of the meatballs (approx. 15-20 minutes total). Transfer the browned meatballs to a baking sheet and set aside.
Lowering the heat to a Med-Low, add 1 samll diced onion, 4 cloves smashed garlic and a pinch of salt to the same Dutch Oven. Sweat the onions and garlic until they have softened and the onions have turned translucent – be sure to scrape any brown pits leftover from the meatballs off the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon (this is flavor!!!)
Once the onions and garlic have softened, but have not turned brown, add in 1.5L tomato passata. Stir to combine the passata with the oil and to disperse the onions and garlic throughout.
Carefully add the meatballs back to the Dutch Oven making sure each meatball is fully submerged in the tomato sauce. At this point, you can add a few sprigs of parsley (stems included) to the sauce for extra flavour.
Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and cook for at least one hour, stirring occasionally to avoid the tomato sauce from burning on the bottom of the pot. The sauce should be at a low simmer.
For the Zpaghetti
While the meatballs cook, spiralize the zucchini and transfer to a colander. Very gently, massage the zpaghetti with 1/2 tsp sea salt. Place the colander over a bowl or your sink and allow to drain of excess moisture for at least one hour – or the time it takes for the meatballs to cook.
To serve
Add the zoodles to individual bowls and ladle in 1-2 meatballs with some extra sauce per person. Garnish with some sliced scallion and finely grated pine nuts to give the illusion of parmesan cheese – they’ll never know the difference!!! (Careful not to cut your fingers when grating the pine nuts – they are tiny!)
